Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response on this very sensitive and serious issue. My perspective on it is that two Irish citizens have been abducted in spite of the fact one father has guardianship and the other has custody. I understand the situation in regard to the Hague Convention and so forth and that it is tricky. I know the offer of assistance from a senior official has been made but if there is no success with the local lawyer, with whom I understand they have engaged, and other personnel in the country to which the children have been taken, will the Minister of State, through his good offices, arrange a meeting in Dublin between the most senior official in the Department and the two fathers when they return to see if assistance can be provided to deal with this situation? I fear it will be a long and difficult road and that the two fathers in question will need every assistance they can get from the Government.